KIRKUS REVIEW

During the Civil War, Vicksburg, Mississippi, was better defended than any other Southern city, but it had to be captured to achieve Lincoln’s goal of splitting the Confederacy by controlling the Mississippi River. Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson was chosen to lead a cavalry raid through central Mississippi with 1,700 soldiers, destroying railroad tracks, burning bridges, ripping out telegraph lines, and diverting attention from Vicksburg before the impending siege. Told as a day-by-day chronicle of Grierson’s 16-day raid, Lalicki’s narrative is enlivened by soldiers’ first-person accounts, period photographs, excellent maps, and prints from Harper’s Weekly. The volume includes a bibliography of sources the author used but no source notes and no guide to the many Civil War resources for young readers. The author effectively places the raid into the larger context of the war, and young readers will learn much about the Civil War in general in this excellent account of one campaign. (chains of command, organization of cavalry, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10+)

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.